Taxed to Death
Debra Purdy Kong
Mystery/Suspense
[rating: 3/5]
Available in:
• Mobi/Kindle
• ePub/iPad
• PDF
• HTML
… from…
• Amazon
• MobiPocket
• AllRomanceEbooks
• OmniLit
Also in paperback
When Revenue Canada auditor Alex Bellamy discovers that $150,000 is missing from Ice Craft Jewelers inventory, someone from Special Investigations suddenly takes him off the case. But Alex decides to keep investigating anyhow, and before he knows it, his best friend is dead—suicide, if you can believe it. Moreover, someone is chasing Alex himself, and he must turn to Jillian Scott, a woman he’s never met and who is as afraid of him as he is of being caught. Soon, her fears and his search embroil them in a bizarre and disturbing nightmare.
I read Taxed to Death as part of a review-exchange on GoodReads: I read someone’s book, and someone else reviews one of mine. To that end, and short of cash, I purchased a copy of Debra Purdy Kong’s Taxed to Death on the used market. This is the first in the Alex Bellamy series, the second being her more recent release, Fatal Encryption. But I couldn’t find a used copy of the more recent title, and I thought it would probably be best to start with the first in the series, anyhow.
The book started by throwing names and facts at me, as many mysteries do. Unfortunately—maybe because I’m dense—I didn’t get what was happening until later in the story. The story is billed as a mystery, but in some ways, it reads more like a suspense novel… except that I didn’t understand the characters, at all. In fact, the major viewpoint character, Les Silby, who gets the most screen-time, he’s one of the suspects. Him I got, at least as much as I could without knowing his full role until the end. Alex and Jillian, the hero and heroine of the story, I had no idea why they did most of the things they did.
As a side-effect, because the story can’t give away the ending, it frequently gave me a partial view, blanking out obvious things that the viewpoint character could see and was thinking about. Now, I’m not an expert in the mystery genre. As I recall, the mysteries I’ve read have achieved this effect simply by staying in the mind of the detective. Suspense novels, not so much, but in a suspense, it’s more important to maintain the tension between hero and villain, rather than to keep secret who the villain is. I’m not sure I liked the effect in Taxed to Death.
The story did get better near the end, as the situation became clear and the forces of evil began to close around our heroes. Even so, I never understood why Alex and Jillian did most of what they did, or felt what they felt, or thought what they were thinking. This is extremely important to me, because rich, three-dimensional characters are key to a good story. And these characters just fell flat.
This story is also missing a theme, as far as I can tell. I had originally expected something like: financial fraud is about more than money. (And that could be the theme of the story… maybe, kinda.) Or: we all pay when someone embezzles funds. (And I didn’t get that at all from this story.) Much less did I see an uplifting, character-based theme. It simply wasn’t that kind of book.
After all of that, I do hope to read the next book in the series Fatal Encryption. Why? Well, Taxed to Death is Debra Purdy Kong’s first book, published 15 years ago. That means that Debra probably put more into it than any other story she’s written, but also that it reflects her inexperience as an novelist. I’m hoping that Fatal Encryption, which came out just a couple years ago, gave her a chance to address some of the storytelling issues I noticed in Taxed to Death. Most importantly, I’m hoping she has gotten better at characterizing her characters, and I really want to get to know Alex Bellamy.
-TimK
|
Taxed to Death |
Available in: |
купить курсовую москва купить курсовую москва .
ігрові слоти ігрові слоти
This is gold, thank you! https://3nz9f.icu/leeds-handed-potential-viktor-gyokeres-transfer-blow/
Bookmarking this for later. https://3nz9f.icu/
сайт заказать курсовую работу kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru .
купить курсовую работу http://kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru/ .
birchoutletlane – Items are clearly presented, making browsing fast and pleasant.
страница кракен вход
этот контент кракен официальный
Excellent breakdown! https://3nz9f.icu/man-united-had-a-howler-over-chris-smalling/
Thanks for the tips! https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-transfer-news-on-folarin-balogun/
подробнее kraken
купить курсовую работу купить курсовую работу .
курсовая работа недорого курсовая работа недорого .
I found this post very helpful. https://3nz9f.icu/man-utd-had-a-nightmare-with-18-y-o-prodigy/
crestartcollection – Intuitive layout and neatly organized listings, shopping was enjoyable.
купить диплом института деловой карьеры купить диплом института деловой карьеры .
интернет Перейти на сайт kraken
купить диплом о среднем медицинском образовании екатеринбург http://www.r-diploma31.ru .
сколько стоит сделать курсовую работу на заказ kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru .
Great insights, thanks for sharing! https://3nz9f.icu/
взгляните на сайте здесь кракен вход
заказать курсовую http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru .
It’s remarkable for me to have a web page, which is good in support of my experience.
thanks admin
курсовая работа купить http://kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru/ .
заказать курсовую работу спб kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru .
покупка курсовой http://www.kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru .
Looking for bouquet of flowers minsk? Visit flower-shop.by and you’ll find only fresh roses and other flowers, as well as gifts, in our catalog. Our professional and experienced florists can create a gorgeous bouquet for any occasion. Purchasing fresh flower arrangements in Minsk to please your loved ones is simple! And our reliable flower delivery is at your service.
решение курсовых работ на заказ https://kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru .
I’ve been looking for something like this. https://3nz9f.icu/man-utd-had-a-nightmare-with-18-y-o-prodigy/
написать курсовую на заказ написать курсовую на заказ .
узнать больше выпускайте кракена
куплю курсовую работу куплю курсовую работу .
You explained this very clearly. https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-missed-a-trick-on-raphinha/
написать курсовую на заказ написать курсовую на заказ .
стоимость написания курсовой работы на заказ стоимость написания курсовой работы на заказ .
You explained this very clearly. https://3nz9f.icu/arsenal-missed-a-trick-on-raphinha/
курсовая работа недорого курсовая работа недорого .
купить курсовую работу kupit-kursovuyu-1.ru .
покупка курсовых работ покупка курсовых работ .
купить курсовую сайт kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru .
заказать практическую работу недорого цены https://www.kupit-kursovuyu-6.ru .
пояснения kraken
Exactly what I needed today. https://3nz9f.icu/
курсовая работа на заказ цена курсовая работа на заказ цена .
сайт заказать курсовую работу сайт заказать курсовую работу .
курсовая работа недорого kupit-kursovuyu-7.ru .
сколько стоит заказать курсовую работу сколько стоит заказать курсовую работу .
курсовая работа купить москва https://kupit-kursovuyu-8.ru/ .
horizon corner – Clean design and fast-loading pages made browsing enjoyable.